


One Headlight

by kaitywithay



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-07 05:18:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4250793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaitywithay/pseuds/kaitywithay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robb Stark has always fulfilled his role as golden boy of his family, until he gets sick of it. Then he ends up meeting a girl that takes him out of his roles and into places he's never been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Think of this as every "Good girl Sansa meets wild child Theon/Jon/Sandor/etc and ends up doing things she never did and becomes somebody she doesn't recognize" fic but with Robb taking the place of Sansa.

She didn’t mind being disinherited.

The moment he told her father that she was not getting a dime of the Lannister gold, she felt like she could finally let go of a breath she did not realize she was holding, as cliché as that sounds.

Almost from the moment that she was born, Jamie knew that his daughter, Kate, was not going to get a dime from his father. Jamie had refrained from telling her, but Tywin didn’t exactly hide his disdain for the girl, so somewhere along the way, she had picked up on the fact that she was not going to get a dime from his fortune.

It was almost like she had purposefully started doing things to get under her grandfather’s skin.

First it had been begging her mother to dye her hair brown, getting rid of the Lannister blonde that seemed to distinguish the family, and then it was punching a hole through her nose, using a fake I.D., and blurting out liberal views, the direct opposite of Tywin’s, at family holidays. Kate’s favorite was making sly digs about her cousins, namely Joffery, and their mother.

Even if she had been written into his will at birth, by the time she was sixteen, she would have been written out.

Not that she would have taken it, she didn’t need Tywin’s money, and she didn’t even need the portion her father offered her from his own meager portion.

Kate was sure that the only reason her father was getting anything was because Tywin Lannister was too old-school and too noble to completely forget about his oldest son, even though she was certain that Tyrion was getting the shit that no one wanted and that Cersei would fight him about even that.

With all that being said, Tywin’s funeral was one of the most awkward things she ever had to sit through.

It wasn’t just knowing that later, during the will reading, her family was getting screwed over, it was also the facts leading up to Tywin’s death.

The renowned Tywin Lannister had been found dead from a heart attack on his toilet with a call girl in his bed.

Cersei had tried to keep the call girl out of the papers, but somewhere it had leaked, so while various relatives talked about Tywin’s love for his late wife, and his scorn for immoral sin, Kate had to bite her cheek to stop from laughing out loud. 

She sat between her father and sisters in the second pew of the church with Cersei’s family sitting in the first one. Tyrion sat at the other end of her sisters and looked just as bored as Kate felt.

It’s not that she was sad, Tywin was her grandfather and a part of her life, however small for twenty-two years, but it was hard to grieve someone who sneered every time they saw you and never got around to liking. She was sadder that her father and his siblings had lost their father.

Kate listened to her Great Uncle Kevan drone on about what Tywin was like when they were boys, and felt Emmery slip her hand into hers. Next to Emmery, her twin sister, Elizabeth, pulled on the skin of her lip. Tywin was amiable enough with the twins, but Kate was sure it wasn’t to the point that the girls were too broken up about it. Finally Kevan stopped speaking; the pastor said a final prayer and the funeral goers could leave. Kate uncrossed her legs as she watched her aunt’s family file out of the chapel slowly, ignoring Joffery’s sneer as he left.

Her family left with her father, looking grim leading the way, and they paused in the lobby of the church. Her aunt had been stopped by a well-wisher, and Cersei looked like she had swallowed a lemon whole. Emmery kept her hand in her older sister’s and they all waited for the casket to pass through before heading to the graveyard.  
As much as Kate wanted to believe it she was still having a hard time believing the reign of Tywin Lannister had come to an end.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Later, after the burial the three sisters hole up in Kate’s old room in her childhood home. Technically it still is her room, always being available to her when she needs a place to crash or just feels like spending the night. Emmery was curled up at the end of her bed sleeping, Elizabeth was sitting crossed legged on the floor playing on her phone and Kate was leaning back against her pillows staring at the ceiling. 

Despite the music coming from her father’s office, she could still hear the arguing also coming for the office.

Maybe it was because the voices were loud and getting louder or maybe it was because her father’s office was conveniently located next to her room.

It was mainly Cersei yelling, with Jamie firing back, now and again Tyrion would butt in, and Kate had no problem figuring out they were arguing of the will. To stop in all out Lannister family brawl, the children had stayed out of the will reading. Her mom had opted to take the girls back home early and they had waited patiently until her father and siblings turned up. Cersei had turned up without her children, so Kate figured she had ordered Robert to take them home.

Kate sighed as a new bout of shouting went up and climbed off the bed. Elizabeth glanced up but didn’t say anything and was back on her phone by the time Kate left the room and went downstairs.

Her mom, Brienne, was in the kitchen.

“You know, you don’t have to cook for them.”

Brienne looks up from the casserole she just shoved into the oven and stares at her oldest child with the blue eyes that all three girls inherited. 

“It’s the hospitable thing to do. Are they still arguing?”

“Hospitable, my ass. You know Cersei isn’t going to stay for dinner and yeah.”

Brienne chose to ignore her oldest daughter’s comment and set about making a salad. “Mom.” Brienne looked up at Kate and raised her eyebrows. “What exactly happened at the will reading? I expected Cersei to put up a fight but now it’s like she’s declaring war.”

Brienne studied her oldest daughter for a moment taking the bright purple nail polish (that Cersei had made a comment about) to the black dress she had donned for the occasion before sighing.

“It seems Tywin had a change of heart and give each of them an equal amount. Let it be said that Tywin Lannister’s act was one of generosity.” 

“So….Aunt Cersei is upset because Dad and Tyrion get their fair share?”

“You know your aunt. She was certain that he had written off both his sons.”

Kate didn’t make any reply but lowered herself down onto a stool. Her mom turned and handed her a tomato and a knife, applying the ‘If you’re going to be in here when I cook, you will help’ rule. Kate started chopping dutifully in the way that she had been taught.

“He left Joffery his cars.”

Tywin Lannister had exactly two collectable cars that he had cherished over everything his life, even his own precious daughter.

“Well that’s a mistake. Joffery is an insolent careless little fool. They’ll both be crashed before the month is out.”

Brienne chuckled and threw her daughter an admiring glance. “Here’s hoping that one of your father’s friends on the force yanks his license.” 

Kate gave a little laugh. “Here’s hoping. Being related to Jamie Lannister never gave me any leave.”

Brienne was quiet for a moment before looking at her daughter again. 

“Speaking of your father’s friends….Barristan says he saw you with Osmund Kettleblack the other night…”

Kate jumped and sliced her finger with her knife. “Shit!” She stuck the finger in her knife and sucked the blood and gave her mom an accusing glance.  
Brienne raised her eyebrows. “Well?”

Kate pulled the finger out of her mouth and looked at her mom. “Mom, no. I was not out with Osmund Kettleblack. I have more dignity than that. He came into the restaurant the other night, sat in my section, so I decided to flirt a little to get a bigger tip. It was just a little fun.”

“Well, make sure you don’t have too much fun.”

Kate raised her eyes to her mother’s and smirked. “Even Tywin Lannister had a little too much fun before he died.”  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
He didn’t want the money.

He had spent all of his life safe and secure with his father’s money protecting him. Not that he had need of it, but it was always nice knowing that there was protection if there ever was a time he got himself into too much hot water.

Not that Robb Stark would ever get himself into too much hot water. Always just enough that he could handle it himself.

And even that seemed lax compared to the shit that Theon had gotten himself into. Theon always got himself into boiling water, while Robb could say that he only ever got himself into tepid or just put on the stove to boil water.

And of course it wasn’t just the money it was also his parent’s continued support and the fact that he was the oldest that stopped him from doing anything too outrageous.  
The roles of good son, oldest and overall golden boy had stopped Robb from doing anything that could lead him into too much trouble.

But now…now Robb was sick of fulfilling the roles that he had filled for most of his life.

If he was honest with himself, and hadn’t his father always taught him to be, he wasn’t sure where this was coming from. Five months ago he was set to become a huge part of his father’s law firm, marry the girl he had been in love with since high school and become the man that everyone had known he was going to be since he was born.  
And then suddenly, he didn’t want any of it.

He woke up one day and realized that he didn’t want to marry Jeyne. It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to marry her; he didn’t want to be with her. Other than a couple of two week relationships, where the biggest thing happened was them sitting by each other at lunch in middle school, Jeyne was his only relationship.

It wasn’t that he had some desire to be with other women, it was just that by now things were monotonous and Robb could already tell he was on his way to becoming exactly like his parents.

Which wasn’t a bad thing, just not what he wanted.

Did he really want to marry the first and only girl he ever dated?

It wasn’t just that but lately Jeyne’s jealousy had been getting a little out of control. If he stayed out too late with Theon, she accused him of being with a girl, and even though he couldn’t prove it, he could swear she had gone through his phone and email. It didn’t happen often but often enough that Robb was getting weary of it.  
So he called it off, and at first he thought about just calling off the engagement while maintain the relationship but then he figured that if was going to make a getaway, it had better be clean.

So he took his name off the lease of their shared apartment and moved back home with his parents and felt better. But only a little.

Around month three of being home, his father had started hinting heavily at Robb taking a part of his law firm and making his way to the top like Ned himself had done. And Robb once again suddenly realized that he didn’t want to do that either. He had never really loved law, despite studying it in school and still being on that path, but stuck with it to keep his parents happy.

He just suddenly didn’t want to do anything that was expected of him.

And that’s how he came to arguing with his father in the living room.

Bran was upstairs playing video games, Rickon was in the kitchen with their mother, and Sansa and Arya were sitting on the couch, staring wide-eyed at the two. Arya didn’t even pipe in with a smart comment.

Robb had never argued with their father like this before, the closet being when his parents were concerned he was spending too much time with Jeyne and not enough with schoolwork. That time they had been willing to hear him out and understood where he was coming from.

In comparison to now when they had no clue what was going their oldest’s head.

Ned narrowed his grey eyes at his son and wondered what had happened to the boy. “I just don’t understand. I thought you wanted this job. In a couple of years you can take my place…”

“I don’t want to take your place. I don’t want to…” Robb didn’t dare say the next part for fear of severely insulting both his parents.

“You don’t want to what?”  
“….Live up to the Stark name and regime. I want to make a name for myself. Not just because I’m Ned Stark’s boy.”

Every time someone said “You’re Ned Stark’s boy, right?” Robb felt himself hating it. He didn’t want to live in his father’s shadow.

Anger passed through his father’s eyes and he glared at the auburn haired boy. “Then what do you want, Robb?”

Robb chewed on his lip, unsure of how to answer. He glanced at his sisters before glancing back at his father. “I don’t know, I need time to figure that out.”

And that was how he came to turn down the money, which started an even bigger argument.

Ned had offered to pay for an apartment, anywhere Robb wanted and Robb had refused, if he was going to figure out what he wanted, he wanted to do it on his own.  
Well, almost on his own.

He couldn’t stay with his parents, and going back to Jeyne wasn’t an option, so he called what seemed like the last option to him. 

His half-brother, Jon. 

Even though Jon was only a year younger than him, Jon had managed to get away with being everything that Robb was not. Ned had even granted Jon permission to take his mother’s maiden name, after she had passed away and Jon had wanted to honor her.

Jon lived in an apartment complex downtown that Catelyn Stark would never have allowed any of her children near if she had any say in it. Not that it was run-down or in a bad neighborhood, it was more geared toward broke college students and her pride would not have allowed it.

Robb called and asked if he could stay with Jon awhile and the always amiable Jon had said Robb could stay as long as he wanted.

Jon had helped him move when everyone was away from the house. Catelyn had never warmed up to Ned’s bastard son and him helping her oldest son move would have caused a family feud huge enough to cause an all ought war.

Jon’s apartment was a two bedroom with one bath, a decent sized living room and kitchen and it was going to do have to do for now. 

Jon hadn’t asked why Robb could never live with his parents, or why he was no longer with Jeyne. Robb could never claim they were close, but he was grateful that he didn’t have to once again explain everything about his sudden life changes. And Jon was never one to pry unless he had good reason. 

When all the moving was done and Robb had unpacked considerably, and tried not to take up too much of Jon’s bathroom space, he relaxed on the couch with Jon. Robb couldn’t really claim he knew much about his brother’s life other than that up until that day, he had lived alone.

“So….” Jon ventures, not wanting to pry, but also wanting to know how he got landed with his new roommate.

“I just need a break, I just need some space and time to figure out who I was outside of the Stark family…you know?”

Jon nods and Robb takes it that the conversation is over and that he wasn’t going to pry any further. 

Robb sighs and thinks about how it would be nice to talk about it but Jon has been carefree and probably wouldn’t understand so he stays quiet.  
When he glances at his half-brother, Jon is on his phone texting someone back and a small smile is gracing his lips.

Jon looks at Robb and swallows. “Look usually when people need a break, space and time, they also need some fun…yeah?”

Robb nods to show that he agrees.

“And it sounds like you need some fun….”

Robb nods again.

“I’m not saying you have to come, you’re perfectly welcome to stay home. But one of my friends is having a party tonight if you wanna come with.”

Robb mulls it over. He usually parties with Theon, and usually only to keep Theon in line and he doesn’t ever remember being at the same one as Jon, but if he was going to be living with Jon, he might as well spend time with and some fun couldn’t hurt.

Robb looks at Jon.

“Sure I’ll come.”


	2. Chapter Two

Kate spent a majority of her time at her waitressing job at the Sunspear restaurant. It was a decent enough job, even if it wasn’t what her parents wanted for their oldest daughter’s career path.

Sunspear was a funky little restaurant run by the Martell family. It had been in the family for years and was now being run by Oberyn Martell, after his brother had retired. Sunspear was a wide open space with a little garden and patio in the back of the restaurant, so that when the weather was nice, patrons could eat outside, away from the noise and hustle of the street.

The inside of the restaurant was painted an off white with tea lights around the perimeter, the tablecloths were bright orange and yellow and a couple years a back Oberyn had invested in a jukebox in case the patrons wanted music while they ate.

Oberyn, who could be an asshole when he had to be, was a good boss to work for. He was caring and understanding when something came up. He brought a fun personality and would often declare theme nights for the restaurant to keep it from becoming boring and so customers would want to come back.

Overall, it was a good place to work at. Kate had steady worked there since she was twenty. It was a good fit for her, even on her off days; she was friendly and good mannered. She would flirt when the situation called for it.

Three days after Tywin’s funeral, Kate had the afternoon shift and it was slow. She spent most of it chatting with her co-workers, which included Oberyn’s niece, Arianne.

Finally Oberyn cut her and she made her way home.

Kate lived in an apartment complex downtown with her best friend Daenerys. It was a modest place that the two of them could afford with two bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen. It was a good little place for them, even if it wasn’t something that her family (outside of her parents and even then, barely) approved of.

When she walked through the door, Dany was sitting crossed legged on the couch, pursuing the latest issue of some magazine or other. She glances up when she hears the door closes and smiles as Kate goes to her room to change.

Kate pulls off her work shirt and flings into her hamper and then opens her closet. She stifles a yawn and surveys the contents. “Chose something cute.” Kate turns to see Dany standing in the doorway of her room. “Why?” She asks.

“Loras is having a party.”

Kate raises her eyebrows. “So I have to dress cute, cause why? We know everyone who shows up to his parties.”

“Not everyone.”

“Everyone we’ll be talking to.”

“But you simply never know.”

Kate stares and stares at her best friend with insolence. Dany just shrugs and ambles over to Kate’s bed. She sits cross legged and stares at Kate, tossing her silvery blonde hair behind her shoulder. Kate stares back, her bright blue eyes matching Dany’s dark blue eyes, so blue they were almost purple.

“Dany…”

“You should still dress cute. Yes this is Loras, who has a party like once a week and yes we know everyone there but you should still dress cute. For you.”

Kate sighs. “Fine. What time did you tell Loras we’d be there?”

Dany studies her nails. “The same time as usual?”

“Snow gracing us with his presence tonight?”

Dany looks up, and Kate sees giddiness in her face. “Yeah. Loras had me text him. Says I’m more persuasive.”

“Dating somebody for six months will do that.”

Kate ducks as her pillow goes flying at her face.

Kate’s friends were a huge part of her rebellion against Tywin. She had never actively sought out people who would piss him off, but when she found out that he didn’t approve, she didn’t end the friendships either. If Jamie and Brienne didn’t see an issue with them, why should she?

The first had been Dany in the sixth grade. The two were placed next to each other and at first they didn’t talk to each other, but did their work in silence. Kate still isn’t sure what turned the tide, but one day Dany turned to ask her to borrow a pencil and Kate complimented her on her shoes. The two girls had started talking and soon were fast friends.  
Next came Loras on the first day of high school. Dany was seated next to him, due to alphabetic seating, and struck up a conversation. Loras had just moved there with his family  
and was utterly friendless. At lunch, she had dragged him over to Kate and the two girls became his friend.

And those friendships stuck.

Over the years they had added more and adapted but the bonds that she had formed with Dany and Loras were the strongest she had in her life, outside of her family.

Dany had ushered her into the shower, more so that Kate was out of her way as she rummaged through her closet. When Kate emerged with towel wrapped around her body and her hair dripping wet, Dany was standing in front the closet eyeing it with an incredulous look on her face.

“You still haven’t found something?”

“No. I found lots but then I started thinking about how it’ll be a pain in my ass to try to get you to wear it. You’re wearing jeans and a tank-top. Because that’s what you would have chosen.”

Kate stared at her best friend. “Then why the whole ‘dress cute fight’?”

“Because I was hopeful. Get dressed. We still have to eat.”

“Are we giving Jon a ride?”

“No, he said he’d come separately. You know, so he can come up with some excuse to leave early.”

Kate smiled.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
An hour later the girls were walking through the Tyrell’s huge backyard into the party, which was in full swing.

Kate and Dany linked hands to make it through the throng of people together and headed towards where Loras was standing. Almost as if he had a sixth sense for when his best friends where in his general vicinity, Loras turned around to greet them.

“Kate! Dany!” Loras pulled the two girls into a hug. Both girls quickly hugged him back and pulled away.

“So glad you two could make it. Dany, where’s your better half?”

Even though he wasn’t drunk, they could tell that Loras had been drinking, but only because they knew him so well. Loras was full of life. His eyes were always shiny and bright and he was typically full of laughter.

“I don’t know. He said he was coming separate from us.”

“Cool. Who’s this friend he’s bringing?”

A look of confusion passed through Dany’s features. “I didn’t know he was bringing a friend.”

Loras raised an eyebrow. “Really? He texted me and asked if it was okay.”

Kate exchanged a glance with Dany. “Jon has friends outside of us? It’s god damn miracle.”

Dany rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s probably somebody he knew before he paled around with us. Probably somebody from high school.”

A couple of hours later, Kate and Dany were separated.

Jon had ambled over with Pyp and Grenn (sans new friend) a half-hour after Kate and Dany had arrived. The group had talked for maybe an hour after that before going their separate ways. Kate had spent a good twenty minutes talking to various people before finding her way over to Meera and Gilly.

Who were discussing a mysterious new man who they had never seen before.

“I’m telling you, he has to be related to Loras.”

“No way. Loras never invites his family.”

“What’s the haps, girls?” Kate threw her arms around the shoulders of her friends. Meera raises her eyebrows and smirks. “New guy.” She said, nodding over towards him.  
Kate followed the direction of Meera’s head. It wasn’t typical that someone new showed up who no one there knew.

The guy was standing off away from the vast groups of people, Kate couldn’t get a good look at his face but he was tall, lean and muscular.

“Recognize him?”

“No….” Despite the two drinks Kate had already consumed, her mind was working to put two and two together.

“Well, then who is he?”

“Well, ladies. The only way to find out is to ask.”

With that, Kate pushed herself away from her two friends and headed towards the mysterious new guy.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Robb had never been big on parties.

Admittedly, he had gone to his fair share in high school, mainly because he felt it was good for him to get out and socialize and to keep Theon in line. At those parties he had mainly talked to his main group of friends and had maybe gotten a little too tipsy once or twice.

He much preferred smaller hangouts in a more relaxed setting.

That notwithstanding, he had agreed to tag along to the party Jon was going to because Jon had agreed to let his brother live with him and would seem like a shitty thing to not hang out with Jon.

At all of the parties Robb had gone to in high school, he could not recall seeing Jon there. As far as Robb was concerned, Jon didn’t even drink outside of the holidays, were their father had allowed them one when they were below age 18, two or more past 18 and couldn’t really set a limit past the age of 21.

So not only was Robb freaked out that he was going to a party where he knew virtually no one but he was also kind of freaked out that his brother was going to a party.  
After Robb had consented to go to the party, Jon jumped up and said he was going to take a shower and that Robb should make himself more comfortable.

Robb had sighed and leaned back on the couch. He didn’t regret his decision, but a few weeks ago he knew who he was and where he was going; now he had no clue.

Maybe it was better that way.

After Jon had gotten out of the shower, and ready, he had insisted on ordering a pizza and paying for it, no matter how hard Robb tried to pay for it himself.

“You let me move in, you helped me move in. This is the least I could do.”

Jon shook his head, black curls bouncing. “Robb, its fine. You’re the one who just moved in and lowered my rent. It’s my treat.”

Robb sighed. “You sure?”

“As long as you do not have Arya’s tastes in toppings. I’m sure.”

After they had eaten, Robb decided that he should probably get ready. He wasn’t sure exactly what Jon’s friends were like, but he still wanted to make a good impression. These were his brother’s friends, and he didn’t want to embarrass Jon.

He surveyed his closet and wondered if Jon’s friends would even care what he was wearing. Jon practically lived in black t-shirts and jeans.

Finally Robb decided that jeans and a white t-shirt would be perfect, casual but not too casual.

When he was done, he followed Jon to his car and hoped that tonight wouldn’t be too much for him.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The place was huge.

That was the first thing that Robb noticed. It was practically a mansion with a sprawling lawn behind it.

“This is where you friend lives?”  
“Technically, no. This is where his parents live. His parents are currently out of town and they’ve dragged his little sister along with them. His older brothers moved out a while ago.”

Robb bit his lip and wondered what Ned and Catelyn would say if he ever decided to throw a party at their house while they were away.

Not that Robb Stark would do that anyway.

Robb followed Jon up the lawn, feeling a little like a puppy following his master around. Before the boys got too far, they got stopped by two other boys. One was tall and extremely muscular and the other was a head shorter with huge ears.

“Jon Snow! Are you actually gracing us with your presence?” The short one said, grabbing Jon in a headlock. Jon shoved the boy off and straightened his shirt. “Yeah, I am. Act like it’s not a big deal, will you?”

The boy smiled and cast his eyes on Robb. “Who’s this?” He asked. “This is my brother, Robb. Robb, this is Pyp”, he pointed to the short one, “And Grenn” he said, nodding at the bigger one.

“Ah, so we finally meet one of Snow’s mysterious siblings. Proof that they actually exist.”

“Lay off, Pyp.” Grenn strides forward and holds his hand out for Robb. Robb takes and shakes it, and swears he can feel a few bones break.

“So, Jon. What made you bring your brother out and about? Family bonding? Brotherly bonding? Or did you just need a babysitter?”

Jon narrows his eyes at Pyp. “He just moved in with me. And it’s kind of shitty to leave him home by himself on his first night in the apartment.”

Pyp backed off with his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Well, we are honored to have your brother a part of our friendly adventures.”

Adventure may not have been the right word for that night; Robb trailed along with the group being introduced, if Jon didn’t do it quick enough, Pyp stepped up. In all honesty, Robb was surprised with Jon’s friends. They were a mix of exactly he would expect and some he would never have guessed Jon would even talk too.

After a while, Robb got sick of being paraded around and introduced to people that probably wouldn’t even remember his name. He told Jon that he was going to take a breather. “Everything okay?” Jon’s eyes filled with concern as he stared at his older brother.

“Yeah. Go have fun.”

Robb walked away, trying his best to avoid the throngs of people, drinking, dancing and having fun. He walked a little away from the party, but not so far that it would seem suspicious.

He took a deep breath. It wasn’t that he regretted coming out with Jon, it was just that he didn’t know anybody here and couldn’t take part of conversations that Jon and his friends started. He also didn’t want to seem like Jon Snow’s shadow, so he thought it would be best if he took off and left Jon alone with his friends.

Robb enjoyed his solitude for twenty minutes before he noticed someone heading his way. He swallowed a catch in his thorat. It wasn’t that he was anti-social; it was just that he didn’t know how to feel about being approached without Jon.

“Hi.”

It was a girl, she was short and petite, with brown hair with shaggy bangs cutting across her forehead, and she had blue eyes. She was wearing jeans, a gray tank-top, and she had her nose pierced.

Robb had to admit that he thought she was rather cute.

“Uh, hi.” He replied, accepting her outstretched hand.

“I’m Kate.”

“Robb.”

“You must be Jon’s friend he brought along.”

“His brother, actually.”

She raised both her eyebrows at that but smiled. “Ah, one of the mysterious brothers of Jon Snow.”

Robb cleared his throat. “That is the second time I have heard that tonight.”

“Oh? Well, it’s not a bad thing. I mean, he never actually named you guys. Just stuff like ‘My little brother’”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“So what made you decide to grace us with your presence tonight?”

Robb swallowed another catch in his throat. “Well, uh, Jon invited me out and I just moved in with him and it would seem like a crappy thing to not accept his invitation.”

Kate smiled again. “Well, it is Jon. He kind of just goes with things.”

“Yeah…”

There was a silence that wasn’t exactly awkward, but Robb didn’t know to fill it.

“So…you’re a new tenant in the building.”

Robb looked at her. “You live in the same building?”

“A couple floors up from Jon…and you.”

“At least I know the neighbors are friendly.”

Kate let out a small laugh. “I guess. We have our moments. So tell me, why are you all by yourself?”

Robb shifted his feet while he thought about what to tell her. He didn’t want to seem like he was being unfriendly or a jerk but he didn’t want to lie either.

“Honestly, I don’t really know anybody and kind of needed some space. And not to sound like a jerk, but I didn’t even know Jon knew this many people.”

“Don’t worry; we didn’t know Jon was bring his brother. And everyone is friendly enough, well sometimes. It depends on if their drinking or angry. Pyp is always friendly though, just ignore his stupid comments and you’re good.”

“Yeah, I already learned that one.”

Robb watched as Kate chewed her lip for a moment. “So, listen. We can stand here and talk all night, totally cool, or we could go and rejoin the party and I can introduce you to the people who matter. Totally up to you. You don’t have to drink if you don’t want. I won’t make you.”

Robb licked his lips. “Like you could.”

_Did I just flirt with her?_

Kate raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? You don’t know how persuasive I can be.”

Robb smirked.

“So, what do you say? Stay here and talk or head back to the party?”

Robb turned and made his way back to the party.


	3. Chapter Three

Kate woke up running a little late the next day.

After she had followed Robb back to the party, she only had one other drink, but combined with the two that she had already consumed, she had started to feel pretty good. She was tipsy, but not drunk and she had thought she set her alarm.

When she woke up at 10:45 and realized she had work at 11, she realized she had not.

After sending a quick text to Arianne to let her know that Kate would most definitely be late, she rushed to get ready.

When she burst into the living room, hastily pulling her hair up, Dany was sitting on the couch watching T.V.

Dany looked up at her roommate, “Oversleep, did we?”

“Ugh, yeah. I guess I forgot to set an alarm…or get reminded to do so.”

“Hey, don’t blame me.”

Kate sat down to pull on her shoes. “You off today?” She asked, looking back at Dany.

“Yeah, me and Jon are going to do laundry.”

“How quaint. Wanna do me a favor?”

“Yes, we’ll do yours too.”

“Thanks!” Kate stood up, kissed Dany on the cheek and headed out the door.

Dany’s eyes stayed on the door after Kate left, a small smirk gracing her lips. She knew there was no way Oberyn was going to fire her, she was one of the best waitresses he had and she was only ever late once in a great while.

Dany ran her hands through her hair and picked up her phone to ask Jon if he was up had ready. She had also gotten a little too tipsy, but Jon had had maybe three beers and had been fine.

Dany waited maybe twenty minutes for a reply.

After Jon confirmed that he was up and running, Dany gathered both hers and Kate’s laundry and headed downstairs to meet him.

Jon was waiting outside of his apartment with his little bag of laundry, when he saw that Dany’s was twice the size than normal, he raised his eyebrows.

“Kate asked if I could do hers as well. She…had a late morning.”

“She overslept.”

“Yes.”

* * *

 

Dany threw the clothes into the washer, added the soap, and chose the cycle. She looked over at Jon, who had gotten all his clothes done in one load, and studied him for a moment. He was engrossed in some thrift store paperback novel.

The girls had met Jon almost two years ago, when he had literally run into Kate while they both were getting the mail. The girls had just moved in three weeks prior and were admittedly still getting used to having to walk downstairs getting the mail, so there had been a backlog, also filled with the stuff that had been forwarded  from their parent’s homes.

Kate had been going through it and heading back up to the apartment, when Jon had just come down to get his and the two collided.  Jon had apologized profusely and Kate had insisted that it had been all her fault. Both of them were stubborn, so it took a while for them to both get out what they wanted to say.

At the point, Dany had gotten worried and went downstairs to make sure her roommate was okay. When she first saw Jon, she thought he was attractive. She had admired the black curls and the grey eyes, and had laughed lightly when Kate explained what had happened. Jon then apologized once again and introduced himself. Dany and Kate introduced themselves and explained they had only been there a little under a month.

At the time, Dany hadn’t noticed the way Kate was looking from her to him. Or the mischievous glint in her eyes. She hadn’t noticed the way Kate had stayed quiet while her and Jon talked, while walking back up towards Jon’s apartment.

Dany hadn’t noticed anything until Kate had started impromptu inviting Jon over for casual hang outs, or stopping to talk to him every time they ran into him in the hallway. When she questioned her best friend about the sudden friendship, Kate had shrugged and said, “He’s our neighbor. We should be friendly.” Despite the fact he lived two floors below them.

Then, Kate would invite Jon over and then suddenly remember an appointment, errand or something she had to do with her sisters. Dany had wondered if Jon had had saw through this ruse, because if he had, he had also gone along with it.

Eventually Jon and Dany just started hanging out without Kate bringing it out about.

All of Kate’s efforts came to fruition when Jon finally asked Dany out to dinner one night, six months ago. Dany had agreed and Kate had been ecstatic.

Three dates later, they started becoming exclusive and had been dating. It may have taken a little longer, than Kate would have hoped, but it still it had happened and Dany was happy it had.

Jon looked up from the novel when Dany sat down next to him in one of the Laundromat’s chairs. “What’s on your mind?” He asked, and Dany felt a flutter in her chest, it always seemed liked he could read her as easily as her own friends could.

“How come you didn’t tell me Robb was moving in?”

Jon studied her face for a moment, she knew it wasn’t to figure out his answer but to see if she was upset or not.

“I kinda thought it’d be easier on him. He’s going through this weird transition phrase right now and it seems like he kind of needed…I don’t know space? And you know Kate, she would have wanted to come over and meet him right away and introduce to him everybody.”

“That’s basically what happened last night.”

“Yeah, well, that seemed…more natural, I guess? You know he came on his own free will. Not like I was throwing people at him the second he moved in.”

Dany smiled. “I guess that makes sense. But you know…you’re not going to get rid of Kate now.”

“Oh? Is she going to start invite him over in hopes that he’ll ask Meera or Gilly out?” Jon smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Dany laughed. “No. This time, she’ll go after him herself. She has a thing for pretty boys with great hair and dreamy eyes.”

“Pretty boys? Are you implying that Robb is a pretty boy?”

Dany nodded. “And…I just so happened to notice that your older brother was glancing at my best friend throughout the night.”

Jon looked at Dany, with looks of confusion and amusement on his face. “Are you saying that, Robb Stark, who’s only been with one girl his entire life, was checking Kate out?”

 Dany scrunched up her nose and looked at her boyfriend. “Your brother’s only been with one girl? And not checking out…looking. I think he liked what he saw.”

Jon shook his head. “I don’t know…maybe.”

“Not maybe, there were a few glances that I saw.”

Jon reached out and tucked a piece of Dany’s hair behind her ear. “Well, here’s hoping that if that is true, it doesn’t take them as long as it took us.”

Dany kissed Jon’s cheek. “Knowing Kate, it won’t.”

* * *

 

When Robb had walked through the door of Jon’s (and now his) apartment, he was surprised to find both Kate and Dany there. He knew he shouldn’t have been seeing as last night he had learned that Dany was dating Jon and that Kate was her best friend.

When Jon had introduced Dany as his girlfriend, Robb had to admit that he was a little shocked. Robb had a picture of Jon’s ex-girlfriend in his head and she didn’t even come close to Dany. Ygritte had been cute, but Dany was practically a knockout. Plus Ygritte had seemed more Jon’s type but nonetheless, Robb was happy if Jon was.

Jon came ambling out of the kitchen, and looked at Robb. “The girls are hungry but are too lazy to cook anything.” He said. Kate shot him a dirty look.

“Why didn’t you go out for dinner then?” Robb asked. Jon gave a small sigh. “Kate said it would be rude to go without at least inviting you.”

“Well, it would be! He’s your roommate and brother.”

Jon turned to look at her. “And I told you that Robb would feel bad that we waited for him to come home and ask.”

It was true; Robb did feel a little bad that they had waited for him to come home.

“You guys could have gone…”

“Are you hungry?”

He looked to Kate, who was standing there with her hands on her hips and a slight smirk on her face. Robb nodded.

“Then it’s settled, you’ll join us for dinner.”

“Uh, sure. Let me just change and shower real quick.”  
“Take all the time you need. It’ll take us forever to decide where to go.”

Robb nodded and headed towards his bedroom to grab his clothes. He then entered the bathroom and turned on the shower to let it run a little hot before he got in. Robb undressed and got into the shower, letting the hot water course down his body.

It had been his first day back at work since he moved out and since he was still working at the law firm his father was a partner at, things were a little awkward. He hadn’t directly run into Ned, but he kept getting sympathetic looks from those that worked closet with him.  When Jory had finally asked Robb if he was okay, with a hand on his shoulder, Robb started thinking about switching to another law firm.

Robb lathered up the soap and started rubbing it over his body; he sighed and cracked his neck.

The previous night had been the closet Robb had come to feeling slightly normal lately. Sure, he didn’t know everyone, but it seemed once he rejoined the party with Kate, he was made a part of things. She introduced him to the rest of her and Jon’s friends and they all just seemed to accept Robb as a part of the group.

She had been lively and engaging. She would laugh out loud and make jokes about her friends, then turn to Robb to explain. She would make sure he was included in conversations, and Robb had only seen her drink one thing of rum and coke. Robb would admit to himself, that he had glanced at her once or twice and it seemed that the more she was around him, the more he found her attractive.

But Robb wasn’t sure if he was ready or not to find another girl attractive. He had been with Jeyne for a long time.

Robb exited the shower and quickly dressed; rubbing a towel through his curls and went back to his room to get his shoes. He could hear Jon and the girls talking in the living room, it sounded like they were still trying to figure out where to go for dinner.

Robb headed out to the living room and stood there, listening to Kate and Dany argue back and forth about whether or not they should get pizza.

“Me and Dany had pizza last night before the party. Can you please choose something else?”

Jon sighed. “Fine. But you owe me a pizza.”

“Deal.”

Kate turned and saw that Robb was standing there. “Oh my gosh. We forgot to ask Robb. What are you hungry for?”

Robb rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“Are you sure?” The look on Kate’s face gave Robb the feeling that his answer right now was the most important thing to her at the moment.

Robb nodded. “Whatever you and Dany want is fine.

* * *

 

Kate and Dany wanted a place that served both Chinese and Japanese food. It was quaint with a koi pond in the front lobby and low lighting. Robb had never been there before, but he was hungry enough that it didn’t matter.

Both girls ordered sushi, while Jon ordered orange chicken and Robb ordered beef and broccoli. The talk was light while they waited for the food to come, what they’re days had been like, what was new in their lives. Robb found himself not taking part, because he didn’t really feel like talking.

“So, Robb. Jon tells us you’re working at a law firm?”

Robb swallowed a lump in his throat and tried not to hate his brother or Kate for bringing it up. “Yeah. Our dad’s actually…though I think it’s time to change scenes. There’s room enough for one Stark at Stark and Cassel.”

Next to him, Robb could feel Jon freeze.

“Oh? Any prospects?”

“No, there’s really not that many out there. Not big ones anyway.”

Kate played with her straw for a moment, and stared into her soda, seeming to contemplate something. “My mom works for a law firm. I mean, she’s not a partner, she was afraid she’d be away from the family too much but I’m sure if you apply there, you’ll get it. You settled on a type of law?”

_I’m not even settled on law._

Robb made himself look at Kate, the look in her eyes were earnest, and she seemed to really mean the offer. He chewed on his lip for a moment and tapped his fingers against the table while he studied her face.

“I’ll consider it.”

Their food came and the conversation dulled while they all ate. Robb chewed diligently, thinking about nothing in general when he heard Jon’s voice.

“Robb’s never had sushi.”

Robb looked up to see both Dany and Kate staring at him looking shocked. “You’ve never had sushi?” Kate repeated.

Robb shrugged. His eating ventures with Jeyne or Theon were never adventurous and it’s not like Jon had ever dragged him to a sushi place to try it and it wasn’t something he would do on his own.

“Raw fish is supposed to bad for you.”

“And you’re supposed to get salmonella from eating raw cookie dough but I’m fine.”

Robb shrugged again, “I’ll try it eventually.”

“You’ll try it now.”

With that declaration, Kate speared a piece of her sushi and held the fork up to Robb’s lips. Robb let a small laugh, he just had too. “Well, go on!” She said, her eyes light with mirth and a smile on his face.

“I…uhhh….”

“You have to try it. I don’t care if you don’t like it, that’s your opinion, but you have to at least try it.”

Robb glanced at his brother; Jon was smiling and looking at Kate with her upheld fork. He glanced back at Robb. “She’s got a point.”

Robb sighed. “Fine.”

He leaned forward and slowly took the piece of sushi into his mouth and chewed. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t something he would eat often. Overall he liked it.

“Well?”

“It’s good.”

“Great!” Kate exclaimed, causing the hostess to glance over at them. Her smile spread and Robb felt himself once again thinking about how attractive he found her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a filler. I'll be in San Francisco for the next week, so I won't be updating! So I decided to write a quick little chapter and update before I left. I'll be sure to update lots when I get home.


	4. Chapter Four

True to their word, Kate had started integrating Robb into plans and dragging him along when they would go places. Dany and Jon and started placing bets to see when she would start hanging out with him by herself.

It amused Dany to see Kate drag Robb, who was just as stoic as his brother along, even for something as simple as pizza. It wasn’t just that Robb would be dragged along; Kate would fire off questions and try to include him in as much as she could.

Kate had never actually vocalized her attraction to Robb but Dany could tell.

After a month, it just seemed normal to have Robb come along, not only in the bigger group settings, but also in the smaller ones.

It had briefly crossed Dany’s mind that she should do some plotting of her own, but she was slightly afraid that Kate would be able to tell and try to usurp all of her efforts.

But it was fun and interesting to have Robb added in to the mix, neither girl could deny that. He was like Jon, quiet and stoic, but he was more reserved and would often double check if it was okay that he had come along. While Jon would just go with the flow as much as possible, Robb would often make sure the flow was going the way everybody else wanted.

Kate worked heavily during the week but Oberyn usually managed to give her one day off during the weekend, so she could go and have some fun. Not that that work had have stopped her from having fun.

She had a Friday off and was lounging on the couch when Dany pulled herself from bed and walked out into the living room.

Kate looked up from her book and looked at her best friend as Dany poured herself a cup of coffee. Dany raised her eyebrows at her best friend.

“We should do something when you get off work tonight.”

Dany sat down on the couch and Kate moved her feet off it. “Like what?” Dany asked before she took a sip of her coffee.

Kate chewed on her lip for a moment, “I don’t know. Something!”

Dany chuckled, “Well when you figure it out, let me know.”

“I’ll think it about. It should be something great.”

Dany eyed her best from the corner of her eye. “Are Jon and Robb going to join us?”

“If they want too. I can’t make them do anything they don’t want too.”

Dany snorted and laughed out loud. “Okay, if that were true, Jon would still be working up the courage to talk to me.”

“I did not make him do anything he didn’t want too. He never had to say yes to coming over and hanging out, he chose to.”

Dany stared at her best friend. She had never actually thought about it that way. Kate could be very persuasive and would often talk people into doing things but she knew when to stop. If Jon hadn’t really wanted too, she would have backed off.

Dany reached over and ruffled Kate’s hair. “Think of something to do and we’ll do it when I get home and we’ll see if we can get the boys to tag along.”

Kate smiled, fixed her hair and nodded.

* * *

 

When Dany walked through the door after work, Kate was waiting for her with a shining look in her eyes.

“We’re going to the landing.”

Dany stifled a yawn and looked at Kate. “What?” She asked. “We’re going to the landing. We haven’t been there in forever.”

Dany chewed on the side of her cheek. “That’s what you want to do?”

“Yeah!”

Dany gave off a small smile and nodded her head. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Let me shower, change and text Jon to see if he wants to come. ….Should I invite Robb?”

“I mean it’s only polite. We cannot leave him home alone on a Friday night.”

“He has friends outside of us, you know.”

“And yet, he’s spent the past month hanging out with us.”

Dany had no reply but looked at Kate, it was true that they hadn’t been to the landing in a good while and it wouldn’t hurt to go again. Plus Dany hadn’t been there with Jon yet, and she would love to experience that with him.

“Alright, I’ll text Jon and then we can go, but can we get some food first? I’m starving.”

Kate nodded and smiled. “Now go shower and change. I want to go!”

Dany laughed.

Two hours later Kate pulled her car into the parking lot of the landing. She tapped her fingers excitedly on the steering wheel and in the backseat, Dany rolled her eyes.

The landing was an area set up on a series of hills where people could the entire city from. It was especially beautiful at night and it was one of Kate’s favorite places in the entire city and she was never disappointed that she came there. She had been shocked when over dinner, both Jon and Robb admitted that they hadn’t been there ever, that they didn’t even know it existed.

Kate excitedly hopped out of the car and tried to wait patiently for the others to get out. Dany knowing how excited her friend was, hurried out of the car and stood there waiting for the boys. Both of them ambled over, not slow, but not to the speed Kate would have wanted.

Kate led the way to the viewing point and hopped up on the cement wall that separated the parking lot from one of the hills. The city was laid out before them, light up and shining. Kate stood there taking in everything for a minute and hardly noticed when Dany stood on one side of her and Robb on the other.

“Isn’t this most beautiful sight you have ever seen?” Kate asked as a soft breeze blew her hair back. When no one answered, Kate took that to mean that they were enjoying the view too.

After fifteen minutes, she saw Dany slip her hand into Jon’s and decided that they should have a few moments alone. She nudged Robb with her shoulder and when he looked over at her, she nodded over towards her best friend and his brother.

“Follow me.”

She didn’t wait for a response but hopped down and started walking; she walked a few feet away from Dany and Jon and stopped. She didn’t need Robb to say anything; she could feel him behind her. He walked up next to her and she felt his fingers brush her wrist slightly. The skin tingled slightly where they had touched.

They stood there for a minutes just looking at the city, both enjoying the other’s company.

“This is my favorite place ever.” Kate said after a while.

“Yeah, any particular reason?”

Kate glanced at Robb and bit her lip. “It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not, tell me.”

“It’s because….down there are thousands of people living separate lives.  There are lawyers and garbage men and waitresses. Single people and married people, but up here you don’t know whose what or who’s who. And it just makes you realize how separate everybody’s lives are but together because we all inhabit the same city. Plus, this is where my dad used to take me when I was little. This is where I found out I was going to be a big sister. This is place is just beautiful.”

“It really is.”

When Kate turned to look at Robb, he was no longer looking at the city but looking at her.

* * *

 

It was hard for Robb to believe that he had been out of Ned and Catelyn’s house a month; it was also hard for Robb to believe that he had been hanging out regularly with Jon and his friends for a month.

At first he felt that he was obligated because Jon was his brothers and roommate and he should surely spend time with both.

But then it started feeling like they had wanted them around, especially Kate. It seemed she was always the one that invited him out or would have Jon invite him.

Not that Robb minded in the least bit.

After two weeks of hanging out with them, he finally admitted to himself that he did find her attractive and a part of him felt guilty because he had been with Jeyne for a long time and in all that time, hadn’t really ever looked at other girls the same way. He wasn’t even sure that he should or could act on it.

But he didn’t mind spending time with her. He was sure that his attraction wasn’t just physical, it was also her personality, and she was friendly and adventurous, lively and would often be down for most things. She always double checked to make sure Robb was comfortable or if he would really want to go along with the plan for the day.

Robb usually did as long as it meant he could spend some time with Kate.

He had hung out with Theon a couple of times since everything had happened and it felt different. He had found himself not really caring about Theon’s latest sexual conquests or the ‘sick’ new bar he had found in some other town.  Robb would keep his side of things short and simple, living with Jon was good, and the law firm was okay, no new girls since Jeyne.

He felt slightly guilty for keeping Theon at bay but for some reason he just felt like that the less Theon knew, the better. He had never had a real reason not to trust Theon, but something this time around told him that his best friend was not the person to divulge everything too.

So he stuck it out with Jon and his friends for the most part.

The thought to tell Jon that he found Kate attractive had crossed his mind, but he wasn’t sure how much his brother shared with Dany and Robb wasn’t sure he wanted that information getting to Kate through a third party.

If he was going to get embarrassingly shut down, he would have it be done in person and face it head on.

Not only that, but sometimes Robb got that feeling that Kate also thought he was attractive and if that was true, he would rather have them talk about it then everyone else in their lives do the talking for them.

So Robb spent his days in his new life, constantly wondering what his next move should be.

When Robb walked in from work one Friday and showered and changed. He was flipping through channels when Jon came home and they talked about nothing really for a while until Jon’s phone buzzed.

“Dany says that Kate wants to go to the landing and she wants us to come with.”

“What’s the landing?”

Jon shrugged. “Beats me.” He looked at his phone again as it buzzed. “She says we’re getting food first because she is starving.”

Jon looked at his brother, “Do you want to go? We don’t have too.”

“I have nothing better to do. Plus, we can find out what the landing is.”

Jon nodded. “Hopefully it isn’t anything dangerous. Knowing Kate, it could go either way.”

* * *

 

Robb had tried not to pay too much attention to Kate when she was around, but sometimes it was hard. Like when she would drive and Dany and Jon would decide to sit in the back, making Robb take the front. He would try to keep his eyes out the window or windshield.  But every now and again he would glance at her.

He enjoyed it when she would sing along loudly to the radio or laugh or stick her arm out the window. Those were the moments he found it hard to tear his eyes away from her.

At dinner that night, he found it particularly hard to keep his eyes off her. As she recounted a story about some customer at the restaurant she worked at, he found himself drawn to her again and again.

Maybe it was the top she was wearing, that made her blue eyes pop even more and if he was going to be honest with himself, accentuated her cleavage. Or maybe it was the shorts that fit her perfectly or maybe it was the lively way her eyes shone or how she would laugh, but Robb could not tear his eyes away from her.

After dinner, he could feel her excitement to get to the landing. When they got there, he could tell that she was almost bursting with excitement as she led them over to the viewing part of the landing.

He had to admit that he was impressed, from the landing; you could see the entire city and at night with it light up, it was beautiful.

And while he was standing there, next to Kate, he fought the urge to reach over and grab her hand.

After a few moments, he felt Kate’s shoulder nudge him, when he glanced over, she nodded towards Dany and Jon, who had their hands entwined. When Kate hopped down, after telling him to follow her, he complied, wanting his brother to have his moment and feeling slightly glad he got to be alone with her.

He hadn’t meant to have his fingers brush against her wrist but he was glad for the contact anyway.

The entire time she was explaining exactly why the landing was her favorite place, Robb could not tear his eyes away from, she seemed intimated but in a more intimate way.

He had never expected her to turn.

When she did after Robb technically pronounced that she was beautiful, her eyes went wide and she didn’t say anything. Robb felt a blush rush up and he felt flustered.

“Kate…I…I meant…that…”

Robb trailed off when he realized that she had taken a step towards him. She had an intense look in her eyes and Robb wasn’t sure what to do.

“Robb…”

He cut off her off when he reached forward, and grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer.

“Robb…” She started again.

This time, he cut her off with his lips.

It was innocent with just their lips on each other’s and Robb almost sighed with relief when he felt her kiss him back.

When she pulled away, Robb saw that she was smiling.

“And here I thought I was going to have to make the first move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm home and this is the update as promised, it might be shorter than the others but it gets things rolling. If you've ever been/lived/live in San Francisco, imagine the landing like Twin Peaks!


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you guys go! A longer post than last time.

Kate woke up the next day and dreaded leaving her room and seeing Dany. Somehow, she knew Dany would be able to tell what happened between her and Robb the night before, even though both Robb and Kate hadn’t said something, but Dany just always had a way of knowing things like that. Especially when it involved her best friend.

She had a little over two hours until she had to go to work, so she decided that she should probably take a shower, which would help kill time and help her avoid Dany for the most part. When she creeped out of her room, she saw that Dany was not in the kitchen or living room, which meant that she was in her room, whether she was sleeping or not, Kate had no clue.

She let the water run while she got undressed and took a deep breath before getting in. The hot water crashed over her body, waking her up and she gave a sigh of contentment. After a few minutes, she heard a loud knock on the door. “Hurry up! We have lots to discuss!” Dany’s voice cut through the sound of the shower. Kate sighed again and braced herself to face her best friend.

When she emerged from the comfort of her room, dressed and her wet hair pulled back, Dany was waiting for her on the couch, staring up at her best friend with wide eyes. Kate looked back at Dany and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“So…how was it?” Dany asked raising one of her eyebrows.

“The shower? Nice. I really needed it to wake me up, I love hot sho….”

“Not the shower. The kiss. With Robb. How was the kiss with Robb?”

Kate studied her nails for a moment and continued chewing on the inside of her cheek. “What kiss with Robb?”

Dany groaned and rolled her eyes. “You know what kiss with Robb. Do not think for one moment that Jon had me so distracted that I did not notice you two sneak off and that I did not see you two kissing.”

“It was only a kiss…”

“That is a lyric in a Killer’s song and not the answer to my question.”

Kate sighed and flopped down on the couch next to Dany. Dany continued to stare at her best friend, with wide expectant eyes and Kate started at the blank T.V. for a moment, deciding on what to say. “Well?” Dany prompted after a few moments.

“It was a kiss…it was sweet and innocent and I was shocked it happened.”

“Why were you shocked? You had to have noticed that he looked at you in that way.”

“I had noticed. I just didn’t think he was going to act on it. I honestly thought it would take him more time than it took Jon.”

“Ignoring that jab, why didn’t think he would act on it?”

Kate turned to face Dany, tucking her feet underneath her and sighed. “Look, all we know is that he moved in with Jon a month ago and from what Jon told us is that he is going through a rough patch right now. What if...what if he is just looking for some fun?”

Dany chewed on her lip for a moment. “You love being the girl who has fun…”

“I know, but it’s different…I just…I think he could use something a little stable in his life.” Kate sighed and glanced at the clock to make sure that she wasn’t going over her time in order to get work to time.

“You two can have fun and still have it be stable. Look, if he’s looking for some fun, then you have some fun. If it’s something more, well, just don’t count it out.”

Kate sighed and ran her fingers through her bangs and nodded. “Let’s not jump ahead. It was just a kiss, he could have gotten caught up in the moment.”

Dany shot Kate a look that clearly said she didn’t believe that for a hot second. The girls sat in silence for a moment before Dany looked at her phone and then looked at Kate.

“So…Loras wants to go to the club tonight…”

“Why?” Kate asked looking at Dany’s phone as if she expected Loras to magically appear and answer her question. “He has a thing for the bartender, Renly…”

“Baratheon.” Kate finished, making a face. “What?” Dany asked.

“He’s my uncle Robert’s younger brother. I guess after Robert and Stannis, their parents wanted one more try….and it’s a little gross that Loras is going to hit on him in all honesty.”

“Maybe he can marry into the family.”

“Except my aunt Cersei would pour hot oil on the both of them for corrupting Joffery.” Kate stood up and grabbed her keys. “Tell him we’ll see how I feel after work and maybe I will go with you guys. And not a word to him about last night either, I’ve been questioned enough.”

 Dany nodded. “Have a good day at work!”

* * *

 

Kate’s day at work was not a good one.

Saturday was Sunspear’s biggest day as most people were free from the confines of their weekday schedules. The lunch rush was usually packed full of families, teenagers, couples and what have you. That is why Oberyn usually had four waitresses during the Saturday rush.

Except one had called in sick and the other didn’t simply show.

That left Kate and Arianne rushing around the restaurant like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to keep customers and Oberyn happy.

Not that was the only bad thing about the day. Kate was used to dealing with a rush in the restaurant. And Arianne was on top of things with her, so it’s not like she could complain about her co-worker.

But mid-way through her shift, Joffery’s friends decide to make an appearance, sans Joffery. Kate could not tell Oberyn not to let her cousin and his friends into the restaurant, but Oberyn did promise to never seat Joffery in her section, so he’d be on his best behavior. However, without the blonde little jerk, Oberyn had no clue they were his friends and they ended up in her section.

So started the hour, of orders being wrong, even though they weren’t, drinks being spilled, and constant snarky comments, and all she could do was smile through everything. And at the end of it all, she had a measly two dollar tip and a plot to rid the world of all teenage boys.

By her lunch break, she wanted a nap and was debating taking one in her car, when Arianne tapped her on the shoulder.

“You have a visitor.”

It was rare she had a ‘visitor’ at the restaurant. Her parents would bring her sisters in and request to be seated in her section. Her friends would come in occasionally and once or twice her uncle Tyrion had come in. She didn’t have visitors, she had customers.

When she walked out into the dining room, her father was speaking to Oberyn. She scanned the room for the rest of her family and when she noticed that they were not present, she got an inkling as to why her father was here.

Kate walked up to her father and he turned to give her a big hug. “Sweetheart! Your kind boss has agreed to let me have you on your lunch break.”

Kate smiled. “Don’t you have work today, Dad?”

“I took the hour off to get some grub with my little girl.”

Kate once again started chewing the inside of her cheek. “Okay, daddy. But make sure we’re back in time for the rest of my shift. We are quite busy.”

Five minutes later found the two Lannisters sitting across from each other at Jamie’s favorite fast food hot dog place. Kate tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for Jamie to breach the silence that had settled around them.

“So…how have things been?”

“Fine. I text mom updates, she doesn’t tell you?”

“She does, does that mean I can’t talk to you?”

“No, you can.”

The food arrived and Kate waited until her father had taken a bite of his Chicago dog before speaking again. “So. Which of your guys saw me at the landing?”

Jamie stopped chewing for a moment to stare at his daughter. Kate raised her eyebrows.

Jamie had only been the police of chief for five years, but even when he was just a normal on the beat detective, he had his partners on the force telling him the whereabouts of his daughters, now it was just easier for him to instruct or get the information out of them. Especially the rookies looking to make a good impression.

Jamie swallowed the chunk of hot dog that he had been saving in his mouth and looked at his daughter carefully.

“That is not important. What were you doing at the landing on a Friday night?”

“I had to give my runners their drugs before the weekend was underway.” Kate said wryly.

Jamie was not amused. “Kate. It’s not safe for you to be out by yourself at night.”

“I wasn’t by myself, I was with friends.”

“Kate…”

“Dad, I’m 22, you cannot hide me away in a tower forever. I get it, the city is bad and ugly. But do you really want me to be afraid of everything and everyone?”

Jamie sighed again and stared at his daughter. “Sweetie, people get stabbed at weddings…”

“So, I’ll be sure not to invite anybody who hates me to my own. I appreciate the concern but please stop having the force spy on me. It’s a little creepy.”

“It’s out of love and concern.”

Kate sighed and seemed to soften around the edges. “I know. Just trust me, okay? You’ve only ever had to have protective detail on me once…”

The memory hung around the edges of both of them and Jamie nodded. “I can try, but no promises. You just try to be…less you.”

Kate snorted and laughed. “I can try, but no promises.”

* * *

 

When she walked through the door, she was greeted by Dany and Loras, who looked slightly annoyed with her. Kate sighed and braced herself. No doubt Loras made it his personal mission to get her to go out tonight.

“How was work?” He asked brightly, despite the annoyed expression on his face.

“Horrible.”

Dany shot her a sympathetic look, it was rare to actually hear Kate complain about work. Dany also knew that Loras was a determined little shit and would not give up until Kate either threatened him or he got his way.

“I’m sorry.” His voice said he meant it, however Kate knew he was going to twist it to get his way.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, feeling a hole from all the previous chewing, and waited.

“So if you had a bad day…you should come out with us and relieve some stress…”

“Loras…I just don’t feel like it. Going to the club is a lot of work. I just want to put on some pajama pants and eat ice cream and binge watch something.”

Loras shook his head, curls bouncing all over. “Kaaate. Come on, we hardly go to the club and it’ll be fine and you might find someone hot and spicy…”

“I don’t want someone hot and spicy.”

Loras sighed and gave Kate his best puppy dog look he could muster.

“Please. You can drink. That relieves stress. And I’ll dance with you. And you might get free drinks because of Renly! And you can dance with Dany, and….”

Kate sighed again, “Fine. I’ll go.”

Loras cheered and hugged her. “I’ll be back in an hour to make sure you two are ready.”

An hour later had Kate in her tightest, most revealing black dress and a pair of black heels that Dany loaned her. Owed to the fact that she had put her hair up while wet, it fell down in soft waves. Dany had convinced her to at least slap on some mascara and some red lip gloss.

When she went out to the living room, Dany was wearing a white strapless dress that went great with her hair, which she had curled.

“You look great. Robb Stark is going to eat you up.”

“Robb Stark isn’t going to see me.”

“Yeah, he is! I invited him and Jon to tag along.”

“Jon Snow is going to a club?”

“He’s…DDing. We need one, you know…Loras is leaving his car here.”

Kate couldn’t argue with that. Though she didn’t know how much she was going to drink, it was always nice to have one on hand and chances were, Jon probably volunteered to make sure that everyone got home safe, because that’s just who Jon Snow was.

When Kate heard a knock on the door, she hoped that it was Loras, instead when Dany opened it, Jon and Robb came strolling in.

Jon was in his typical all black. Robb was wearing a white long sleeved shirt, with sleeves pushed up past the elbows and the tightest pair of jeans that Kate had ever seen him in. She realized that she was staring.

She looked away and made sure that she had her keys, wallet and phone.

She could feel Robb’s eyes on her. The other looks were innocent, sweet. This one was hungry, lustful.

* * *

 

Robb woke up the day after the kiss and mulled the entire night in his head. They hadn’t talked about it and neither one said anything to Jon and Dany about it on the way home. He wondered if Kate had said something to Dany when they got back to their apartment.

He hadn’t told Jon, in all honesty, he was afraid that Jon would find fault with him for kissing one of his friends. After all Jon was willing to do for him, Robb did not want to overstep his bounds. Despite Kate kissing him back, Robb did not Jon thinking badly of either of them.

Robb stayed in bed for a while. He could hear Jon moving up and about in the apartment. He vaguely wondered if Jon or Dany had noticed anything. He didn’t think they acted weird on the way home, but he didn’t know.

Robb yawned, and heard his phone ring. He picked it up from his bedside table and looked at it, to see his father’s number flash across the screen. Inwardly, he groaned. It was Saturday, he didn’t need to deal with his father on the weekends. He pressed the accept button.

“Hello?”

“Robb?” It wasn’t his father, but Rickon, sounding very hesitant.

“Hey,buddy!”

“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, you’re good. What’s up?”

“Uhm. Mom and Dad are going to Uncle Edmure’s and they’re taking Sansa and Arya with them and they need someone to watch me and Bran and I was wondering if you’d do it otherwise it’s going to be Aunt Lysa and….”

“Yeah, I can stay with you guys for a while.” Robb knew exactly why Rickon would prefer to have his older brother rather than their Aunt. Lysa was a little…out there and convinced everything was going to hurt her son.

“Cool! Can you be here in like an hour?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

Robb hung up and pulled himself out of bed. He looked around looking for the cleanest items of clothing that he could find. He hadn’t done laundry in a couple of weeks. He threw on a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt before locating his shoes.

He went out into the living room, where Jon was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal. Robb sat next to him and pulled on his shoes.  Jon looked over at his brother and raised his eyebrows.

“Where you going this morning?”

“Babysitting. Rickon and Bran seemed to have opted out of the trip to Edmure’s and it’s me or Lysa.”

Jon nodded, Lysa had never treated him with hospitably, citing him not being Catelyn’s child as the reason. Robb stood up and ran his fingers through his curls. “If I’m not back by five, it means I died somehow.”

Jon smirked. “You’ll be fine. It’s Bran and Rickon. Not Bran and Arya.”

Robb nodded and headed out the door.

Robb felt a little guilty, he hadn’t exactly seen his younger siblings since he moved out. It was hard enough when he glimpsed Ned at the office, it would have been downright terrible seeing him at home with his mother. He did miss the younger Stark children. So he didn’t mind giving up a Saturday to spend with his little brothers.

* * *

 

When Robb walked in through the backdoor of the Stark household, we saw Rickon sitting at the table, with his nose in a book. Rickon often had his nose in a book or some educational periodical he got out the school library.

Rickon looked up, his own curls bouncing. “Hey!” He said, smiling. His smile brought one to Robb’s and Robb walked over to him, ruffling said curls. Rickon smiled and wrapped his older brother in a one arm hugged.

Robb smiled, loving his sweet little brother.

“Robb.” His mother’s voice was curt and cold and told Robb that he was not easily forgiven for walking out and moving in with Jon.

“Mother.”

“Thank you for watching them. Edmure found some of my and Lysa’s old things and I am going to have the girls go through them and see what they want. The boys chose to stay here.”

“No problem. I didn’t have any plans for today.”

Rickon was looking from his brother to his mother, worry etched over his face.

“We should be back sometime this afternoon. Please keep them out of trouble.”

Robb nodded. “I will.”

He didn’t see his father or his sisters.

* * *

 

Overall, it was a pleasant day with his brothers. Bran showed him new video game cheats and hacks he had found, Rickon prattled on about the latest books he had been reading and how he couldn’t wait for school to start again, because summer was just so boring.

They had even wrestled for a bit, after Robb had put away anything that could break and their mother would murder them for breaking.

Later when they were watching some movie, Bran put in, Rickon looked at Robb. “I missed you.”

Robb felt something catch in is thorat. “I missed you too, little buddy.”

“We can hang out more?”

“We can sure as hell try.”

Rickon smiled and put his attention back on the movie.

Ten minutes later, the rest of the Stark brood walked into the living room. Arya and Sansa arguing over something and his parents being silent. Sansa didn’t really pay attention to Robb but Arya stopped and looked at him.

“You. Come around more often. It’s less stressful.”

Robb didn’t have time to respond before she stomped upstairs after Sansa and Robb looked to his parents. “Were they good?” Ned asked. Robb nodded, standing up. “Good.” There was an awkward silence, in which Bran cleared his throat and Rickon turned a page in his book.

“I’ll uh, see you guys later. Call if you need me.”

And with that, Robb left.

* * *

 

When Robb walked in through the door to his and Jon’s apartment, Jon was stretched out on the couch, sleeping. Robb immediately regretted letting the door slam shut so loudly and made sure to shut his bedroom door a little more quietly.

Robb pulled his shirt off, changed into a pair of sweat pants and laid down on his bed. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it, until he found himself staring at Kate’s phone number. She had put into his phone once, when Jon hadn’t answered her texts fast enough.

He had never texted her.

He wondered how it would seem to text her the night after he kissed her. Would she think that he was compelled too? Or that he was really interested? Would she even text back? Did she regret the kiss?

Robb sighed. He knew that eventually they would have to talk about it, but that could come later.

Robb rolled over and somehow drifted off to sleep again.

It seemed like he had only been sleeping for a few moments when Jon was shaking him awake.

Robb rolled over and looked at Jon, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Hey, sorry to wake you. But I ordered pizza and wings and they’re here and I didn’t want them to get cold…”

“No, no it’s fine.”

Robb rolled out of bed and followed Jon into the kitchen. Not only had Jon ordered pizza and wings, he already had some on a plate waiting for Robb. He sat down opposite from his brother and dove in.

The two brothers ate in silence for a moment before Robb heard Jon’s phone buzz, Jon pulled it out and glanced at it.

“Apparently, Loras wants Dany and Kate to go to the club with him tonight.”

Robb felt a slight pang at the mention of Kate, but pushed it down. “Yeah? And he’s texting you because?”

“He’s not, it’s Dany. She wants to know if I’ll pick them up if they go.”

Robb didn’t question if Jon would, he knew his brother would pick them up, it was just who Jon was.

Jon’s phone buzzed again, and he glanced at it once more. “And I guess Loras is insisting that if I be DD, I at least come out and have some fun.”

Robb chuckled slightly. “No offense, but I can’t see you at a club.”  Jon narrowed his eyes slightly. “And have you gone to one, oh dear brother?”

“Yeah. Theon dragged me to one on my 21st.”

Jon didn’t reply, but sent back a response to Dany. He looked up and sighed. “I guess I’m going out with them tonight. I have nothing better to do….want to come with?”

Robb wanted to question if Kate was for sure going, but then figured that would seem suspicious. He nodded. Just like on his 21st, he would probably end up regretting it slightly, but one night out of fun wouldn’t hurt him.

* * *

 

He didn’t regret it.

He knew the moment he walked into Kate and Dany’s apartment and saw the tight spaghetti strap dress that was hugging Kate’s features perfectly that he wouldn’t probably end up regretting it.

He thought that she was attractive, he wouldn’t have kissed her if he hadn’t so, but when he saw, he realized just how attractive he found her.

And he was grateful that she had chosen him to be her dance partner for the night.

When they had arrived at the club, she had pushed Loras slightly in the direction of the bar, and the rest of them had found a table. Jon had looked really uncomfortable and Robb hoped he didn’t look the same. Dany had gotten up to get the first round of drinks (water for Jon, as he insisted) and came back with a report that we were probably going to have to drag Loras away from the bar when they left.

Eventually, Dany had convinced Jon to get up and dance with her, which left Kate and Robb alone for the first since they had kissed. Long moments passed without either of them speaking. Then Kate stood up and held her hand out to Robb.

That was how Robb found himself with sweat dripping down his forehead, and Kate wiggling her hips in front of him. She reached up and pushed her mass of hair off her neck, before moving closer to him. They had in between bouts of dancing, gotten more drinks. Well, Kate and Dany had, Robb and Jon had refrained.

Nearby, Jon looked like he was going to kill everyone involved with this night.

Robb felt Kate’s hands land on his hips and despite the heels, she still had to lean up to whisper in his ear. “I need water.”

Without waiting for a reply, Kate grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the bar. A few seats down from where they stood, Loras was talking to one of the bartenders. Kate ordered her water and gulped most of it down in one go. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Kate.”

She opened her eyes, and turned. The guy who had spoken was tall and muscular with bushy eyebrows and a hooked nose. A look passed over Kate’s face that Robb couldn’t read.

“Osmund.” She said it like it was the worst thing on the planet.

“I didn’t know you came here. I’ll have to frequent this club more often.”

Robb hadn’t realized he had taken a step closer to Kate, until her hand slipped into his again. He didn’t know if this meant that she was bothered by it or if she appreciated it.

“Really. Don’t bother. This is a onetime thing. I have far better things to do than occupy the same space as you.”

Osmund bit his lip and very obviously checked Kate out. “Right. I’m sure you do.”

Robb heard Kate breath hard out of her nose. “You know, this has been fun. But it is way past my bedtime.”

She didn’t wait for a response, but dragged Robb away from the door and out the club’s door. She walked over to Jon’s car and leaned against it sighing. Robb gave her a few moments before speaking.

“So, you know him?”

“Unfortunately. He’s some asshole we went to high school with. And I guess he has a thing for me now. Or he’s just an asshole. I don’t know which.”

Robb made no reply but watched her carefully. She leaned down and slipped her shoes off before speaking again.

“You know, I was almost having a good time until he popped up. He is the rotten cherry on the shit sundae that was today.”

It was then that Robb realized they were still holding hands. “I’m sorry.” He said, Kate turned her head and looked at him.

“It’s not your fault. “

“Doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad that your day sucked.”

Kate smiled. “Listen. I’m going to call a cab and take off. If you want to go back in, feel free.”

Robb shook his head. “I’ll head home with you.”

He hoped it didn’t sound as forward to her as it did to him.

* * *

 

This time it was Kate who kissed Robb.

He had insisted on making sure that she got safely, and she hadn’t really put up a fight. She had told Robb that he should at least have a glass of water before he went home and Robb, not really wanting to go back, had agreed.

He had gotten a glass of water, and he noticed that Kate had sat a little closer to him than usual. Their knees would bump when one of them would shift. Robb had finished his water and placed the glass on the table and turned to Kate, to finally talk about the night before.

That was when she kissed him.

Robb had of course kissed back and it was happy to see that she had made the first move this time around.

The kiss had started as innocent as the first, but this time, it escalated into something deeper, something more passionate.

It wasn’t long before Robb found himself leaning over Kate while she lay on the couch, the two of them kissing. Something in the back of his mind whispered that Kate had been drinking, but she didn’t seem drunk. But did Robb know her well enough to know how she acts drunk?

Robb decided that he would take it no further than kissing, because he had waited long enough to make a move and now it felt good to finally have something in action.

As the kiss deepened, Robb moved his lips from her mouth to her neck, still promising himself that it would not go any further. Kate let out a few breathless gasps as his lips roamed around her neck.

Robb pulled back to look at her.

“Kate…I…we…”

“Just kiss me, Robb. That’s all you have to do tonight. Is kiss me…”

“I don’t want it to get to far. You’ve been drinking...”

Kate actually laughed. “You are so full of chivalry and honor it’s a little sickening. I said just kiss me. That’s it. Kiss. You can still have fun kissing.”

Robb learned that night, just how true that was.


	6. Chapter Six

Kate woke up the next day, feeling slightly groggy. She could hear Dany clanging around in the kitchen, making herself breakfast and closed her eyes for a moment. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to tell Dany about last night. She had texted Dany before she called the cab, so Dany wouldn’t worry when she noticed that Kate was gone.

But she was sure that they would notice that Robb had left too and she hadn’t exactly gotten around to asking Robb what he had told Jon.

Kate sat up and ran her fingers through her hair and was thankful that she had the afternoon shift at the restaurant. Kate reached out and unplugged her phone from the charger and looked at it.

_One missed call from Brienne._

Kate vaguely wondered if that had anything to do with her father’s visit to the restaurant yesterday. She sighed and decided that she would call her mom back at a later time today.

Kate pulled herself from the bed and sighed and braced herself to face Dany.

This was different from the morning before, than they were discussing a simple kiss and now it seemed like there were three extra levels added to everything.

Kate wiped the sleep from her eyes and went out into the kitchen, Dany had her back turned to her, cooking. Kate stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.

When Dany turns around, Kate chews on the inside of her cheek. She can’t read the look that passes over Dany’s face, which gives her an uneasy feeling.

“Hey, I’m making French toast.”

Kate quirks an eyebrow up at this. Dany sighs. “I got a drunk craving for some last night but Jon wouldn’t take me to get some nor would he make me some. That asshole. Said it was way too late.”

Kate bites down a little too hard on her cheek. It was a nice segue way as she was going to get.

“Yeah, about last night…”

Dany stares at her best friend, her eyes wide, eager and yet full of concern at the same time. Kate takes a deep breath. “I didn’t exactly…come home alone last night…”

“It was Robb, right?”

Kate nods, and then goes back to chewing on her cheek again. Dany studies her for a moment. “Did…did you two sleep together?”

Kate looks at her roommate with confusion all over her face. “What? No! Why would you even ask that?”

“Because of these.” Dany moves forward and traces her fingers along the side of Kate’s neck. “You should probably go look in the mirror.”

Kate rushed past Dany and flung the bathroom light on and stared in the mirror. The side of her neck was covered in dark hickeys. Her eyes went wide at the sight of them.

“Are you sure you didn’t sleep together?” Dany asks, hopping up on the counter next to where Kate is standing. Kate’s fingers trace the bruises along her neck.

“I’m positive. He said I’d been drinking and…”

Kate closed her eyes, remembering everything that happened last night at once. She sighed and opened them once again. Dany looked at her patiently.

“All we did was make out.”

“I believe you…”

Dany watched as different emotions crossed her best friend’s face. Kate turned to Dany and sighed. “Thank god, my dad decided to visit me yesterday.”

Dany raised an eyebrow, but Kate had walked out of the bathroom and into her room. Dany followed her. “Your dad visited you…”

“One of his spies saw us at the landing. Relax. It was just a regular Jamie being paranoid meeting.”

Kate was digging around in her storage container. Dany leans in the doorway and watches her best friend.  Kate turns around with her rarely seen makeup bag in her hand. “I haven’t had to do this in forever.”

Dany smiles. “You don’t have too, you know. Oberyn cannot exactly fire you.”

“No, but my customers can decide not to give me tips.”

Dany smirked. “Well, you still have some time. Come get some breakfast and then go cover up the fact Robb can’t control himself.”

Dany ducked as Kate’s pillow flew past her head.

* * *

 

Kate had successfully managed to hide her neck with her make-up and even then Dany insisted on braiding her hair in a side braid to give it more coverage. Kate was still a little self-conscious about it but decided that the worst thing was she wouldn’t make that much in tips.

Sundays at the restaurant were usually slow. Kate and Arianne usually spent most of the time talking, more so than waiting on tables.

It was around the pre-dinner rush lull where both girls were contemplating dragging customers into the restaurant, when Kate felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She glanced at her only table to make sure that they didn’t need her right that second. Then she glanced around to make sure that Oberyn wasn’t around.

She pulled her phone out and saw that it was a text from Robb. She took a deep breath before opening it.

_Hey Kate. Can we talk later?_

Kate hit reply. _Yeah, I’ll let you know when I’m home from work._

She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

“You look like you just got told that you’d have to work for the next seventy two hours straight.”

Kate jumps a little when Arianne speaks and takes a deep breath. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I just had a long night.”

Arianne studies her for a moment and nods. “Fair enough. Let me know if you ever need to talk.”

Kate nods, and smiles. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Arianne, they just aren’t close.

* * *

 

When Kate walks through her door after work, she sees that she is alone. Dany is probably out with Jon. She places the Styrofoam box containing the burger Oberyn made for her down on the coffee table and sighed.

She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get comfy and spend the rest of the night on the couch with Netflix.

And then she remembered that she told Robb she would talk to him when she got home.

Kate pulled out her phone and sent him a text saying that she was home, and then went into her room to change. She pulls on a pair of her pajama pants and takes her hair down. She goes into the bathroom and washes her face and the makeup off her neck. She just finishes when she hears her phone going off in the living room.

She walks out to get it, expecting it to be Robb and is surprised to find that it’s her mom. She sighs before swiping the green button and heading back to the bathroom.

“Hey, Mom.”

“You couldn’t call me back?”

Kate grumbles internally at the fact she forgot her mom had called that morning. She sighs and goes back to the bathroom to examine her neck.

“Sorry, I forgot. It’s been kind of a busy day.”

She swears that they have gotten darker as the day went on.

“Why was it busy?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “I had work. I’ve only been home like five minutes.”

“Okay. How was work?”

Kate craned her neck and decides that they most definitely have gotten darker. “It was fine. Why’d you call?”

“It’s about your sister.”

Kate stops her examination of her neck and looks quizzically at herself. It’s rare that her parents call with concerns about her siblings. She usually leaves the parenting up to them.

“Which one?”

“Elizabeth.”

Kate can’t say that she’s surprised. Out of the two, Elizabeth was the more outgoing, adventurous one. Emmery was more reserved and quiet than her twin.

“What about her?”

Kate presses down on her hickeys lightly. They don’t hurt and she takes that as a good sign.

“Your father caught her sneaking out last night. To go to a party and see a boy.”

“My father was home on a Saturday night? Really?”

 It was rare for Jamie Lannister to be home on a Saturday night. Usually it was only when there was a school dance going on a Saturday night, and that was only if one of the girls had a date, and he wanted to intimidate them.

She could hear Brienne hesitate for a moment, Kate placed her hair back on her neck and waited until her mother answered.

“Well, no…”

“So one of his spies caught Elizabeth.”

She could hear Brienne sigh into the phone and Kate smirked as she exited the bathroom. “Technically, yes. But he told your father and your father was the one to confront her.”

“Okay….why are you telling me this? I don’t live there, I can’t stop her from sneaking out.”

“…Was Loras having a party last night?”

Kate sucked in her breath and knew that eventually it would come to this. “No. And even if he did, he has a strict no younger sibling rule. Strongly enforced if they are underage, and to the point, his own sister isn’t allowed at his parties.

Kate sat down on the couch and opened the box containing her burger.

“If you’re sure…”

“Mom, I’m sure. Plus, do you really think I want Elizabeth at the same party as me and my friends? No. Did you ground her?”

“Of course. I just want to know why she felt the need to sneak out and go see this boy.”

Kate didn’t want to admit to her mom that it was probably because there was something about the boy that Elizabeth knew her parents wouldn’t approve of.

There was a knock on the door. Kate took a deep breath and braced herself.

“Listen, Mom. I have to go. I haven’t even ate yet and I’m starving.” She knew that would get her mom off the phone the fastest way possible.

“Alright, sweetie. Try and stop by sometime this week, we miss you.”

“I’ll try.”

She hangs up the phone and stood up to answer the door. She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs.

She then slowly opens the door to face Robb.

* * *

 

When Robb woke up on Sunday, he ran over everything that happened last night in his head and felt a weird, but a good sensation in the pit of his stomach.

The last time he had spent a night making with a girl on her couch was probably right before the graduated high school and he was in a relationship with said girl.

He had never made out with a random girl on her couch.

Not that he would count Kate as random, it was like they had just met last night, but it was still weird to him that he had made out with a girl who was not in a relationship with him.

He liked it.

It felt wild and different. It felt like something that Theon would do, it was something that Theon would do.

Except Theon would take off and probably not talk to the girl again.

Robb couldn’t just leave things like they were, he had to talk to her to make sure that Kate was okay with everything that happened as well.

He waited to text her, hoping that she would text him first. When that didn’t happen, he finally caved and texted her. She replied a minute later, telling him she’d let him know when she got home.

Robb didn’t have much to do, so he spent the day lounging around the house with Jon, watching trash T.V. and anxiously waiting for Kate’s text message. Jon didn’t bring it up.

They had talked about last night when Robb got home. Jon had stayed home, to make that Robb was okay and home safely. When Robb told Jon what happened, Jon studied his older brother carefully before nodding his head and warning Robb to be careful.

Jon wasn’t one to broach subjects about your life unless you were one to bring it up first, so the boys just talked about random subjects. Eventually Jon said he was going out with Dany, invited Robb along, which Robb refused and left.

It was practically nine o’clock when Kate texted him to let him know that she was home.

Robb pushed himself off the couch and went to his room to change.  He then went to the bathroom to wash his face and take some time to figure out what exactly what he would say when he saw her.

He decided that he would just be honest with her.

He walked up the steps to her apartment and knocked. He waited maybe five minutes before she opened the door. Kate was wearing a black tank-top and a pair of blue pajama bottoms. She looked slightly exhausted.

“Hey. Come on in.” She moved to the side so Robb could walk in.

Robb walked in and at Kate’s urging sat down the couch next to her. “Do you mind if I eat while we talk? I’m starving.” Robb nodded and watched as Kate picked up a massive burger and took a bite into it.

“So about last night…”

Kate swallowed her mouthful and looked at Robb. “What about it?”

“If I stepped over any lines or did anything…”

“Robb. Don’t, do not apologize. You didn’t step over any lines or break any boundaries. You did the direct opposite. So do not apologize and do not worry about it. I had fun, I assume you had fun. Everything is peachy.”

“Are you sure?”

Kate picks up a fry and pops into her mouth and nods. “I’m positive.  You did have fun, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then no worries. Seriously.”

Robb smiles and tries not to watch her eat her dinner. “How was work?” He asked. “Long and boring. I hate Sundays. Especially in the summer. Everybody cooks out.”

They talk about a few random things, Robb feeling better. It may have been a short conversation but it got to the point.

Robb laughs at something Kate said and watches as she pushes her hair off her neck.

That’s when he noticed it. Her neck.

“Did I do that?” Kate looks up from her phone and at Robb. “Did you do…oh.” She says, her hand going to her neck. “Uhm. Yeah.”

Robb bites down on his lip and reaches out to brush them lightly with his fingers. “Do they hurt?”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I must have gotten a little carried away.”

Kate looked at Robb like he just admitted to being a zombie. “You’re apologizing for getting caught up in a moment in which you had fun?”

“Well, yeah…”

In truth, Robb had never gotten that carried away with Jeyne. He could not recall one moment throughout their entire relationship where he had left hickeys on her neck or her on him. It was strange to see them on Kate’s neck and know he was the one that put them there.

Strange but good. Those were his marks, proof that he, Robb Stark, could get caught up in a moment.

“Robb, you are something else.”

Robb can’t but help glare at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You told me last night that I had been drinking, so you weren’t going to try anything, but now you’re over here apologizing for a few little marks. You are ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but…I didn’t mean too and…”

“And what? It’s just proof that we both got caught up in a moment. It happens. Seriously, lighten up.”

Robb gave no reply but bit down on his lip again as Kate got up to throw her trash out. When she came back, Robb noticed she sat a little closer to him than she had been previously. She studied him for a moment.

“You…you’ve done this before, have you?”

“Done what?”

Kate smiled. “Left hickeys on a girl’s neck? Spent most of the night kissing said girl?” Robb felt himself blush.

“Not exactly. No.”

Kate laughed out loud. “That’s so cute. You must have been like, the perfect teenage boy. I bet your mom didn’t have to worry about you getting into trouble.”

Robb blushed deeper. “Well I mean, she did give a fair bit of trust…”

Kate laughed. “That’s so cute.”

Robb didn’t say anything, but shook his head. Kate smiled, leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Robb smiled and beat back the urge to ask what exactly he and Kate were now. He decided to just let it be whatever it was and see where it took them.


	7. Chapter Seven

Kate knew that her friends, outside of Dany and Loras, wanted to know what exactly was going on between her and Robb. And if Kate had known (or even got an inkling to ask Robb) she would have told them.

Or not.

Kate liked the bemused looks she got when Robb’s arm was around her shoulders or waist. She liked how Pyp would waggle his eyebrows when they gave each other a quick kiss and Robb would look away. She would silently giggle when a protective look would pass over Grenn’s face and the smirks Meera and Gilly would give her.

In truth, she had never cared about labeling things. If her and Robb wanted to have fun and talk to only each other, that was fine. If her and Robb wanted to have fun and talk to other people, that was fine with her as well. Even if she had wanted to label things, she thought it was still too early to do so.

Kate had told her mom that she would drop by for a visit, but then she thought it was best to let the marks on her neck fade. The last thing she needed was Jamie being home and seeing them. She didn’t feel like being interrogated and you didn’t get to become the police of chief without being an excellent interrogator. And her mom’s keen eyes would notice that she had slapped make up on her neck.

She had waited a week for them to fade, enjoying the looks on her other friend’s faces when they saw and occasionally teasing Robb about them.

When she pulled up to the house after work she didn’t immediately see her mom’s car, and just figured that Brienne had parked in the garage. When she tried the front door, she found it was locked, so she used her key to open it. She stopped in the front hall and heard nothing but silence.

“Mom? Elizabeth? Emmery? …Dad?”

She got no reply.

She wondered through the living room, which was empty, and then back to the front hall and down towards the kitchen, where she found Emmery reading a magazine, with her headphones in her ears.

Kate tapped her little sister on the shoulder and tried not to laugh, when Emmery jumped and uttered a shocked little sequel. Emmery whipped around on her stool and glared at her oldest sister and yanked the earbuds out.

“That was so not cool. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Kate laughed and moved to the other side of the counter to look at her sister. “Word of advice, if you’re going to lock the door to be safe. Don’t wear your headphones. You have to be able to hear it when someone breaks in.”

Emmery rolled her eyes, “You sound like Dad.”

“I’m going to choose to ignore that.”

Kate placed her arms on the counter and leant forward, studying her little sister.

Both Emmery and Elizabeth had the same (non dyed) blonde hair inherited from Jamie and blue eyes inherited from Brienne. Emmery and Elizabeth were tall and slender and both of their hair fell to the middle of their backs, but that was about where the similarities ended.

Emmery was more soft, obedient and overall sweet. Elizabeth was abrasive, loud and in total opposite of sweet, sour. They were identical only in looks.

Emmery looked she had something on her mind, so Kate put on her best concerned sister face.

“So….where’s mom and Lizzie?”

“On their way home. Mom got held up at work.”

“Elizabeth goes to work with mom? It was that serious? I never even got that punishment.”

Emmery didn’t reply but splayed her hands out on the counter and studied them. “Well, no…”, she said slowly, “Not at first. First it was the typical, grounded for two months, no phone, no hanging out with friends. But then she broke into Dad’s office and stole her phone back. She didn’t even put it back before Dad got home.”

Kate blinked. She had never even gone as far as breaking into Jamie’s office to get some confiscated item back. There had been a time or two where she had tricked him or her mom into giving back to into her, but she would never have broken into his office to get it back. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

“So things have been tense around here, huh?”

Emmery looked at her and blinked. “If I have to hear the phrase ‘My house, my rules’ one more time, I’m calling mom and dad both in as dictators and claiming political asylum. It’d be fine, but Dad’s convinced that I know something.”

“….Do you?”

Emmery didn’t reply, but picked at a scab on her palm and bit her lip. She glanced up at Kate for a moment and then back down.

“If I tell you something, you promise not to tell mom and dad?”

“Of course.’

“We don’t talk anymore. We don’t hangout anymore. After we got back to school from winter break, she started acting really weird.  Every time I’m in our room, she acts like some kind of bug she wants to squash. So I’ve been spending time in yours….I hope that’s okay.”

“I’m not using it. But she just started acting weird? If she’s not hanging out with you, than who is she hanging out with?”

Once again, Emmery stayed silent for a moment before answering. “Her name is Myranda. I don’t know much about her, I think she’s a grade above me.”

“Myranda what?”

Emmery shrugged to show that she didn’t know. Kate sighed. “Did she say anything about why she stopped hanging out with you?”

Emmery looked up and Kate saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. “She…she said that I was baby and people don’t like babies and…and…”

“And?”

“…And Shireen is ugly and no one likes ugly people and if I continue…”

“Hold up. She said that?”

Emmery nodded and looked down. “Please don’t say anything. To our parents or Elizabeth. I read online that this tends to happen. Puberty, new emotions, etc.”

“Puberty does not excuse insulting your sister and the sweetest girl on the earth.”

Before Emmery could answer, they heard the front door slam and pounding footsteps up the steps. Kate and Emmery both raised their eyebrows at each other as Brienne came walking into the kitchen.

“Hello girls.” She said, kissing Emmery’s temple.

 Brienne walked around the corner and gave Kate a one armed side hug. Emmery closed her magazine and hopped off the stool. “I’ll be upstairs.” Kate and Brienne both watched her leave the room and head towards the stairs.

Brienne sighed and began pulling things out to make dinner and glancing at her oldest child. Kate’s hair was pulled up into a bun and she still had her work stuff on, though she didn’t seem tired or irritated. Brienne was glad that she had decided to stop by.

“You were supposed to come last week.”

“I was busy last week. I picked up a few extra shifts.”

“You work too much.”

“I have to pay my rent, Mom.”

Brienne didn’t reply but started to cook. Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before speaking. “So…any idea on who the boy she was meeting is?”

Brienne shook her head, “She had deleted her text messages by the time your father confiscated her phone.”

Kate had to give her sister props for being that smart. She plopped down on the vacated stool and watched her mom cook. “She hasn’t said anything?”

“No and Em says she knows nothing. I just wish we could figure it out. For the first time, I wish your father could legally have the lab go through her phone.”

Kate raised her eyebrows at this. Outside of the spying, which she usually didn’t know about it unless it was something like this, Brienne spent most of her time convincing Jamie not to use the things at his disposal to figure out what the girls were up too.

“This might just be a phrase, you know puberty, teenage rebellion, and my dad’s a cop so I’m going to act out stuff.”

Brienne leveled her with a stare. “Funny, that’s what we said when you were being a rebellious teenager.”

“Hey! The only boy I snuck out to see was Loras, so there was no threat there.”

That got a chuckle out of Brienne and Kate smiled. “So, what are you guys going to do? It sounds like it’s only going to get worse.”

Brienne looked at her, “We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it. You staying for dinner?”

Kate shook her head. “I have dinner plans with Dany and Loras.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger.”

Kate nodded, hopped off the stool and kissed her mom goodbye before heading towards the door. She paused at the stairs and then headed up. She entered her bedroom to see Emmery on her bed, reading the magazine.

Emmery hadn’t just been hanging out in the room, she had moved in. Kate could see her clothes and the bed looked slept in. Kate sat down on the bed and looked at Emmery.

“Hey, how about instead of claiming political asylum, the next time things get tense around here, you call me and you can come over and hang out with me and Dany.”

Emmery looked up, her eyes shining. “Really? Dany and you won’t mind having a…a…little kid around?”

“You’re no little kid. And of course, you’re my sister.”

Emmery grinned. “Then I’ll be sure to do so.”

* * *

 

Dany was waiting patiently for Kate when she walked through the door. There were faint signs of annoyance on her face. Kate raised her eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“Loras is impatient and hungry and being a little crank ass. Despite me telling him that you stopped by your parent’s house after work.”

Kate bit back a laugh, Loras was good natured, until he got hungry, than he became the worst person to be around.

“Let me change.”

Dany trailed behind Kate into her room, and settled herself pleasantly on Kate’s bed and watched as she dragged out clothes and changed. “Snow upset you’re not spending tonight with him?”

“No, he understands…..what about Robb?”

“Why would he be?”

Dany sighed but apparently didn’t want to dignify Kate with a reply. Kate rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone. “Let’s go before Loras decides to eat his kitchen table.”

Ten minutes later when Loras climbs into the backseat of Dany’s car, he’s grumbling about how his best friends are cruel and he should find new ones as soon as possible. Both girls rolled their eyes and ignored him.

The three of them had decided to go to their favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. They settled into a booth, ordered their food and drinks and waited patiently, or as patiently as they could with a hungry Loras Tyrell on their hands.

Kate fiddled with the wrapper of her straw and thought about everything Emmery had told her this afternoon. Dany and Loras could both tell that she had something on her mind and Dany asked her about it. Kate quickly recounted everything that she had learned.

Both Dany and Loras lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Dany was the youngest of her family and Loras was the middle child. But both of them knew the pull of being free from your parents at fifteen and tried their best to come up with answers for their friend.

“Maybe…she feels she has to live up to the streak you had?” Loras ventures, knowing that it was weak. Kate eyes him wearily over the table. “I doubt that. I had my bad moments but I always knew when I was beat. I’m more concerned about the boy. Neither my mom nor Emmery brought it up, which means Elizabeth isn’t talking. And I don’t even know how my dad found out if she had deleted her texts.”

“Maybe whatever spy caught her overhead her say something or maybe she didn’t delete them all.” Dany said, looking over at Kate.

Kate sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just hope she gets her act together.”

“You did. Sort of.” Loras dodges the straw wrapper as it files across the table.

Their food arrives and Loras attacks his like it was going to be the last meal of his entire life. Both Kate and Dany giggle and start in on their own meals.

* * *

 

It wasn’t that Robb hated his job.

It was just that he wished he didn’t work in the same place as his father and most of the people his father had brought around to dinner and cook-outs while Robb was growing up. It was like they could all tell that he and Ned hadn’t spoken in a month.

In truth, Robb knew it was stupid. He knew that there were children who didn’t talk to their parents because they didn’t accept their sexuality or gender choices that their parents had been absolutely horrible to them growing up, that there were children who didn’t even know their parents.

So it seemed a little stupid not to talk to his parents because he didn’t want to live up to the family name anymore.

Robb just couldn’t get his parent to understand why he no longer wanted to fulfill the role of Stark Gold Boy. Robb wasn’t even sure he understood it himself. All he knew was that up until he decided to make the changes he did, he had a nagging voice in the back of his head telling  him that the was not happy.

And despite all of the changes, he was still slightly unhappy.

Robb had never been sure if law was a good fit for him or not. Growing up in the Stark household, meant that he and all of his siblings had learned to present careful, thought out, and logical arguments.

It only seemed logical that the oldest Stark child, would take up the position as head partner at Stark and Cassel. His father had always stated that there should always be a Stark in Stark and Cassel.

Robb just didn’t want it to be him.

And with all that in his mind, work was becoming absolute torture. While Robb had worked hard for a basic law degree, all he found himself doing was going over briefs and occasionally helping his father on a case.

And now that he and his father were no longer speaking on a day to day basis, he had been move into Jory’s department, which was almost as unbearable.

It was Jory’s constant looks of concern, asking if Robb was okay and the hearty pats on the back that Robb couldn’t stand.

And today was twice as worse because he had Theon blowing up his phone, demanding that his “absent best friend” actually spend some time with him for once. And since Robb couldn’t come up with a valid excuse not to see Theon, he chose to ignore him.

Thankfully, Robb never really did see his father at the office.

It was in low spirits that Robb left the office and headed for his apartment. Jon had the day off and told Robb that he would clean, despite both boys being cleanly.

When Robb walked into the apartment, Jon was sitting on the couch in sweatpants, no shirt and had his feet crossed on the table. “You waiting for Dany or something?” Robb asked with a little amusement. Jon threw a quick glare in his brother’s direction. “No. I went for a run. Dany is going out to dinner with Loras and Kate.”

Robb plopped on the couch next to him and kicked his shoes off. Robb internally groans as his phone goes off. He pulls it out and see that it is once again, Theon. Robb ignores it and then turns his phone on silent.

“Someone you don’t want to talk to?” Jon questions.

“It’s….it’s Theon.”

“…..Finally realize he’s a douche?”

Robb should have expected this. Theon and Jon had never really saw eye to eye. Anytime the two had seemed to get along was typically because they were in a public place, and even then, Theon would try to tempt Jon into getting into with his snarky remarks. Jon usually had enough grace to refrain.

Robb sighed. “No. I just don’t feel like talking to him.”

“Because….?”

“You know, he’s not really a douche.”

“He is so.”

“Jon, c’mon. You know Theon hasn’t had the best childhood. You know his relationship with his dad isn’t that great, he can’t stand his brothers, and his sister only comes around on the holidays. So he takes out his aggression on someone who can handle it and give it back.”

Robb turned to see Jon staring at him. “That doesn’t excuse being an asshole, Robb. Just because someone had a crappy childhood, or they currently have daddy issues, does not mean they get to go around treating people like crap and doing damn well as they please. Theon’s a douche because that’s how Theon is. Yes it’s sad Theon’s childhood sucked, but that does not excuse him being a dick, because he can be a dick.”

Robb and Jon stared at each other for a moment in silence.

Jon flushed had turned away. “All I’m saying is you can’t excuse Theon’s behavior with his childhood. He’s an adult, not a child anymore.”

Robb mulled this over for a moment. He had always just excused Theon’s antics on his bad childhood but Jon was right. Theon was an adult now. He couldn’t keep using his bad childhood as an excuse to do as he damn well pleases.

Robb glanced over at Jon. “When did you get so smart?”

Jon laughs and shakes his head. “Don’t forget you tutored you in chemistry, Stark.”

Robb leans back into the couch and laughs.

* * *

 

Later, Robb and Jon head up to Dany and Kate’s apartment, after they get back from their dinner with Loras. Robb had amused himself for the last twenty minutes watching his brother get fussy with his hair. Jon had thrown Robb glares and finally asked him if he had anything better to do.

Robb was still laughing at him as they made their way to the girl’s apartment.

They arrived, knocked and were ushered in by Dany. The boys settled themselves on the couch and Kate came out of the bathroom. Dany settled herself next to Jon and Kate hopped up on the arm of the couch next to Robb.

The four of them talked for a while and then Dany proclaimed she wanted ice cream and gave Jon puppy dog eyes until he agreed to go with her. Kate declined to join them and Dany loops her fingers through Jon’s and practically pulls him out of the apartment.

After they had left, Kate moved to Robb’s other side, while Robb checked his phone. Theon had moved from texts to phone calls. Robb absently wondered when he would he try to message Robb on his (hardly used) Facebook. Theon could be very persistent and Robb was just thankful that he didn’t have Jon’s address.

“Everything okay?”

Robb looked to up to see Kate resting on her knees, looking at him. Robb nodded. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“The look on your face says you would rather enjoy flushing your phone down the toilet.”

Robb shrugged. “Just somebody I don’t want to talk to right now.”

Kate shifted her position so she was sitting cross legged and facing Robb. “Fair enough.”

The lapsed into a comfortable silence in which Robb turned his phone off. Kate would look around the room and then glance back at him. Robb glanced at her once and chewed on his lip for a moment.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Kate nodded.

“Do…do you think…wanting to be away from your family name is a stupid reason to stop talking to your parents? Like…like do you think not wanting to live up to the expectations they have for you is a stupid reason to stop talking?”

Kate studied her nails for a moment and chewed on the inside of her cheek. Before looking at Robb, she took a deep breath.

“I’m a Lannister. Technically, I’m a Lannister-Tarth. My Dad is the Chief of Police, my mom is the 3rd renowned lawyer in the state, and my uncle is a highly respected scholar specializing in ancient military strategies.  My grandfather was the head of the City Council, up until he died with a call girl in his bed, and my aunt married a member of the City Council because she’s social climber and was hoping it would boost her status. And yet, the only people who still think a Lannister has to be something great was my grandfather and now my aunt, who technically is a Baratheon. Not once, in my entire life have my parents told me to live up to the Lannister name, only my grandfather ever did that. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Robb shrugged. Kate chuckled lightly.

“I spent my teen years, trying to prove to Tywin Lannister that the name Lannister doesn’t mean shit to anyone. The type of people who still think you have to live up to a family name are either people like the Kennedys, who have a family name to live up to, or the people who once had a family name but never learned that they don’t bring about the same respect in a modern setting. I dyed my hair brown forever because ‘Lannisters have blonde golden hair’. It took me a long time to learn that didn’t matter. Lannister doesn’t mean what my grandfather thinks it means. And living up to expectations? Eventually if you try to live up to each and every one, you’re going to fail. We’re in the 2000’s, no one should have an expectation for the family name. Son no longer ride into battle bearing the family sigil and screaming the family words. That time is long past, my uncle could tell you.”

Robb eyed Kate. “So you think if you and family stopped talking because you didn’t want the expectations they put on you or because you no longer want to live up to part of the family name….it’s okay?”

“If your family is putting expectations and trying to make you live up to the family name, that’s their problem, not yours.”

Robb looked at Kate and chewed on his bit his bottom lip. He reached over and grabbed her waist and pulled her onto his lap. “Smart and beautiful.”

Kate linked her hands behind his neck and Robb saw that she was blushing slightly. “Why, thank you.” She said leaning in and catching Robb’s lips in a kiss.

Robb kissed her back and caught her bottom lip in between his teeth and pulled away slowly. Kate’s eyes darkened and she scooted closer to Robb.

“You’re looking for trouble, Robb Stark.”

“Trouble is exactly what I’m looking for, Kate Lannister.”

They connected their lips again and Robb moved his hands lower on her waist, and pulling her even closer. Their lips moved together and Robb moved his hands around to grab her ass. Kate let out a slightly breathless moan and her hands travelled up to run through his hair.

The kiss deepened and Robb removed one of his hands from her butt and slowly slipped it slowly under her shirt. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice tell him that he should probably ask her if this was okay. Kate’s lips travelled down to his neck and helped Robb forget the voice in the back of his head. Robb ran his fingers up and down her side. Kate connected their lips again and Robb couldn’t even remember how this started.

The kiss deepened once again with both of them giving out breathless moans now and again. Robb’s hand travelled slowly up towards Kate’s breast but before it could reach there, they heard the door open.

The two broke apart, breathless and looked to see Dany and Jon standing there. Dany looked slightly smug and Jon looked awkward.

“We brought you ice cream!” Dany exclaimed.

Both Kate and Robb burst out laughing.


End file.
